


Grave Memories

by pkmngame-fankids (Kataang36)



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Dead Parents, Gen, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Originally Posted on Tumblr, pkmn fankids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 01:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12570560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kataang36/pseuds/pkmngame-fankids
Summary: Madie tells Chris the story of the day her parents died.





	Grave Memories

**December 8th, 2036  
Six years, three months, and two weeks since the accident  
12:58 pm**

Madie never liked going to the cemetery outside of her hometown of Kiloude City. It never failed to bring up one painful memory – a memory she tried to forget. It had been just over six years since  _that_  day, the day that had changed her life forever. When she would go to sleep, she could still hear the heavy rain falling and see her parents lying  _too_  still with a sheet over most of their bodies, but failing to hide the many bruises on their faces. It was why she avoided the cemetery as much as she could,  _that_  day would return to the front of her mind and haunt her for weeks. The cemetery brought up everything she tried to bury alongside her parents.

The cemetery was only a reminder of everything she had lost, everything she could never get back, and Madie hated it. Any other day, she would much rather stay in at her adoptive parents’ home with her seven younger siblings and pretend that everything was fine. The more she was able to create her dream world, one where her parents hadn’t died on their family vacation, the more she was able to hide her own grief from her family. Her dream world was the only thing that kept from breaking her act.

Yet, here she was with her closest friend, Chris, in front of two simple gravestones: Leah and Edward Stevenson, her parents. She remembered how suddenly they had died and how they had left a hole so big in her life that no one, not even her younger siblings, could fill. Madie had isolated herself from others over the years, terrified of once again losing someone she cared about. Standing in front of the two gravestones for the first time since the funeral brought that fear back to the forefront of her mind.

“So, here they are,” Madie hesitated for a moment, before she gestured towards the graves. “My parents.”

Chris nodded, and sat down in front of the graves. He didn’t lean forward and touch the gravestones, like Madie had expected when she decided to bring him here, and instead looked back at her.

“What happened?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He sounded both worried and confused, like he couldn’t imagine a younger version of Madie and her siblings burying their parents. Madie tucked a piece of her short, red hair behind her right ear, a new habit of hers, and bit her lip for a brief second.

“It’s a long story.” She responded. She then sat down beside him, and stared at the two gravestones, before meeting his gaze for the first time since they had gotten there. “If you’re up for it.”

“It’s more like if you’re up to tell it, Madie. I can wait until you’re ready.” Chris said. His voice was still so quiet, almost as if he was scared of disturbing someone, but his brown eyes showed that while he was curious, he  _understood_  if she wasn’t ready to talk about it. She took a deep, steadying breath, afraid of reliving the memory, but before she lost her nerve, she spoke up.

“We were on vacation, in Sinnoh. All of us, my seven younger siblings, my parents, and I. It was raining heavily that day, and, well, no one really thought what would happen…”

* * *

**August 30th, 2030  
Day of accident  
5:21 pm**

“Madie, can you watch your siblings for a little bit?” Leah asked, pulling her long hair that was dyed blonde up into a tight bun on top of her head. “Your father and I need to go out to get the take-out we ordered. We won’t be long.”

The young red head studied her mother, and then leaned over and looked outside the window. It was pouring rain outside, large droplets falling without an end in sight, and it was pitch black. Madie felt unnerved as she stared outside, a pit of anxiety in her stomach.

“Can’t you get the food delivered to the hotel room?” She asked, looking back at her mother. 

“All the delivery cars are in the workshop, according to the restaurant. We’ll be about an hour, at most.” Leah explained, placing a hand on Madie’s left shoulder reassuringly. “We’ll be fine, your father and I have driven in worse weather.”

“But it’s raining really hard out there. What if something happens to you?” Madie asked, her red eyebrows furrowed worriedly. “You guys could get hurt, and what’ll I do then?”

“Madeline,” a deep, yet soothing, voice spoke from behind her. The nine year old turned around, her eyebrows still furrowed together, even as she looked at her father. He was putting on his black raincoat, the same shade as the outdoors. “Everything will be fine. I’ll leave my phone behind, so you can stay in touch with us if something happens.”

Madie hesitated. She still didn’t want to let her parents out the door of the hotel room, though she couldn’t exactly say why – maybe it was the anxious pit in her stomach or the heavy rain outside – but she also knew that her family needed food for supper. The phone did provide a sense of security, that she could call or they would call if there was an emergency, but it wasn’t a huge relief.

“Okay.”

The simple, one word answer made her father smile, the corner of eyes crinkling. The smile made Madie relax a bit more, the tension leaving her upper back, and she returned the smile.

“There’s my girl. Make sure your siblings behave, alright? We’ll be back before you know it.” Edward said, and hugged her tightly. Madie didn’t want to let go, but when she felt the light tap on her back from her father, she did, and watched them leave the hotel room.

* * *

**December 8th, 2036  
Six years, three months, and two weeks since the accident  
2:05 pm**

“Wait a minute, did they drown in the heavy rain?” Chris interrupted, his brown eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “I know people can drown in a puddle of water, so is that what happened?”

Madie laughed, for the first time that day. She placed her right hand over her mouth, hiding her smile until she calmed down. It took her about a minute or two to finally stop laughing, and then she shook her head.

“No, my parents had better balance than falling into puddles.” She said. “They didn’t even walk to get the food, anyway, though I wish they did.”

“Then what happened?”

“Stop talking and I’ll continue.” She said, a teasing tone in her voice, though forced. When Chris closed his mouth and nodded, Madie continued, after taking another steadying breath. “My mom and dad were running much later than I thought they would have.”

* * *

**August 30th, 2030  
Day of accident  
10:49 pm**

Madie tapped her fingers against the wooden table nervously, watching the door to the hotel room in front of her. Her parents  _should_  have been back hours ago. Her younger siblings were getting hungry – and angry, she noticed after having to pull the three year old twins apart a few minutes ago – and she was too, if she were being honest. Her mother wasn’t picking up her cell phone, either, and it only brought a worry to her mind: had they decided to leave her behind?

She didn’t want to think about that possibility, but it was the only thing on her mind. If she and her siblings had been abandoned by their parents, what would happen to them? How would they stay close to each other if they couldn’t see each other as often?

A knock at the door pulled her out of her worried thoughts, and without thinking, she jumped up and ran to the door. Madie practically threw the door open, ready to yell at her parents for running so late, but she stopped after she saw who was actually behind the door: two police officers, who looked just as surprised to see her, a tiny, angry nine year old, on the other side of the door.

“Where are my parents?” Madie asked, quickly placing her foot in between the door and the doorframe. “Who are you?”

The two police officers exchanged a worried look between the both of them, as if this was the worst of what they had expected. Carefully, though, the taller of the two took a step forward and knelt down to the girl’s height.

“Miss, are your parents Leah and Edward Stevenson?” He asked. There was something in his voice that Madie didn’t recognize, a deep-rooted fear or concern that didn’t sound  _right_  coming from him. She tilted her head in confusion, opening the door a few more inches.

“Yes. Did something happen?” The pit of anxiety in her stomach deepened, if at all possible, and her brows furrowed together again. She  _didn’t_  like where this was going.

“There was an accident, that they were a victim of. When we searched their wallets for identification, we found a picture of a large family, we assumed all of the kids in the photo were all theirs. We also found that they were vacationing here, though it took us a while to find this hotel.” The officer that knelt in front of her said.

“What happened to my mom and dad?” Madie asked. Her voice shook, dreading the answer that she could get.

“I’m so sorry, miss, but your parents were killed in a mass car accident. People on the scene tried to help them, but we’re afraid that they were killed almost immediately.” The second police officer said. He took off his hat and held it above his chest. “We’re very sorry for your loss.”

Madie didn’t even feel her knees hitting the floor.

* * *

**December 8th, 2036  
Six years, three months, and two weeks since the accident  
3:13 pm**

Chris didn’t speak for a few moments, looking between Madie and the two gravestones. He couldn’t exactly make out the expression on her face, a mixture of grief and regret, but he could see the tears in her purple eyes. She had begun to sound more stuffed up towards the end of her story, and touched her nose every now and then, as if to check that she wasn’t showing too many signs of grief. He wanted to say something that might make her feel better, but couldn’t think of anything other than an apology, which he  _knew_  that she wouldn’t want to hear again.

“Thanks for telling me that.” He said, leaning back on his hands. “It must’ve taken a lot for you to do so.”

Madie shrugged, and tucked another piece of her hair behind her ear. She acted as if she couldn’t care less, but Chris could see right through it. She was still grieving, whether she’d admit it or not.

“It gets easier each time I tell it. Being the eldest of eight kids, I had to tell my younger siblings what happened as they’ve gotten older, especially the twins. It’s not the first time I’ve told the story.” She replied. Her voice was hoarse and uneven, and she could feel her throat tightening up. Madie crossed her legs and leaned closer to the graves, in an attempt to hide her face from her friend. “Thanks for coming here with me, Chris. It’s been awhile since I last visited them, and it means a lot having you come here.”

Chris made a small noise, acknowledging that he had heard her, but otherwise stayed silent. The duo sat in a comfortable silence, simply staring at the gravestones in front of them, and made no sudden movements. The silence lasted for nearly ten minutes, until Madie got up and held her hand out to offer Chris up.

“Let me show you my favourite place here in Kiloude, instead of us sitting in the cemetery all day. It’s a lot more fun, I promise.” She said, her voice cracking from either nerves or sorrow. Chris smiled up at her, and took her hand, hoisting himself up.

“Let’s go, then.”


End file.
